Halloween Special Review: 'Shelley' (2016)

Yes, it’s Rosemary’s Baby alright.

Shelley, a movie directed by Ali Abbasi, is about Louise (Ellen Dorrit Petersen) and Kasper (Peter Christoffersen), a Danish couple, who live in an isolated villa in the middle of the forest away from modern life, technology, and even electricity. Louise’s biggest dream is to become a mother, but she is unable to have children. She finally decides, out of desperation, to seal a pact with her Romanian maid, Elena (Cosmina Stratan). Elena accepts to bear Louise’s child as a surrogate mother in exchange for a large amount of money. As you may expect, the child in her womb is not normal and the terror ensues.

It is a beautiful film with strong performances from the leads. For example, one of my favorite scenes is when Louise and Elena talked about their problems while rowing on a boat. That scene feels real and can only be described as two real grown-up women bonded through their problems. We understand them and therefore understand why those characters chose to do what they did. It is a heartwarming scene with beautiful background and natural sounds accompanying it.

As a horror movie, it is a slow-burn movie. You need to pay close attention because if you don't do that then I can guarantee you that you'll find it boring. So don't expect any cheap jump-scare here. It relies more on the atmosphere and the tone. It doesn't mean there are no disturbing scenes in this film. It definitely has some scary sequences in it, for example, the scene in the bathroom when Louise gives Elena a bath. Elena's pregnant body there is terrifying and we can clearly see that she is not healthy and something very wrong is happening. It is devastating to see her character who is cheerful at the beginning of the movie turned like this. This is making it a bit confusing as to why the couple decided to not bring her in to a doctor and examine her. But at the same time, we can see that Louise is truly caring about Elena and that she wants to help her in some other ways.

Unfortunately, some elements in this movie just didn't work. They never give us any reason why the baby is inhuman. When does it happen before or after the surrogate process? Is it because of the couple or the surrogate mother? Why this baby was chosen? Or even why the name Shelley was chosen. All these questions and more are never answered or even explored in this film. We just need to accept it as it is. Sure, in the ending, they showed someone who may be responsible for all these problems, but the film never really explained it. The story isn't clear and sometimes it felt that the director forgot what story he wanted to tell. There are many disturbing events with a creepy atmosphere, but overall, they never add much to the story progression. The details are being left behind and it is up to the viewers to explain what's happening in the movie. Actually, it could have been a very good movie if he only just explained the gray area a little bit. Like is there really something supernatural going on or is it only in her head? But this is the route they want to take and I respect it for that.

In conclusion, a solid first feature film from this director with some hiccups here and there. He can play with the atmosphere expertly and crafted some disturbing sequences. The leads are strong, with Peter Christoffersen getting a short stick, and it is because he doesn't have enough material to work with. The movie clearly took inspirations from Rosemary's Baby and The Omen, but the structure of the story itself is not very clear, unlike those other two movies, and it can make this movie feel boring at some points. Recommended if you like a slow-burn horror, but try to set your expectations accordingly.